Bhagalpur woman forced to drink acid for dowry, dies

After the woman died on Sunday, members of her in-laws family fled from the hospital, leaving the body behind.

On Tuesday, an angry mob blocked the NH-80 that connects Bhagalpur with Jharkhand by placing the body on the road. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

An angry mob on Tuesday stopped road traffic on national highway (NH)-80 at Nathnagar in Bhagalpur district in Bihar in protest against the death of a woman who was allegedly tortured for dowry and forced to drink acid.

In her statement to police at Jawahalal Nehru Medical College Hospital (JLNMCH), Bhagalpur, where she was initially brought for treatment before she died, Rajani Kumari said she was assaulted by her in-laws for dowry and forced to drink acid on March 31. The woman died during treatment in Patna on Sunday.

Members of her family said Kumari, a native of Nathnagar, was married to Dharmveer Bhaskar of English Chihraon village in Akbarnagar police station area of the district in 2014. Bhaskar, a police constable, was currently posted in Begusarai district, they said.

Police said Kumari was initially admitted to JLNMCH on March 31 by her in-laws and later shifted to a private health facility in Patna, 235 km west of Bhagalpur. After the woman died on Sunday, members of her in-laws family fled from the hospital, leaving the body behind, the police added.

Bhagalpur senior superintendent of police (SSP) Manoj Kumar said a police team that had accompanied the woman to Patna helped Kumari’s family in completing the process for release of the body.

On Tuesday, an angry mob blocked the NH-80 that connects Bhagalpur with Jharkhand by placing the body on the road, the SSP said, adding that the protestors were demanding arrest of Bhaskar and handing over the custody of Kumari’s son to her parents.

The SSP said a case of dowry death had been registered at Akbarnagar police station against Bhaskar and some members of his family. Process had also been initiated for

“It is, however, a matter of investigation whether Kumari was forced to drink acid,” the SSP said.

The blockade was lifted after senior police officials informed the protestors about steps being taken to arrest the victim’s husband.